Posted below is something that I have said many times in the past on my Yule Log.com message board as well as in interviews that I have done with the media regarding the Yule Log telecast and my Top 500:

In my all-time Top 500, and for that matter, my entire collection, which includes thousands of Christmas albums, there are only two albums that I do not have the audacity to rate on my scale of 1-10, as they are beyond my ability to apply such an arbitrary number due to the sheer perfection that was achieved in their majesty and reverence of arranging, conducting and performance. They are: Music of Christmas, originally released in 1954 in mono, then re-recorded and re-released in 1959 in stereo; and Hallelujah, originally released in 1958, then later reissued in 1965 as Music of Christmas Vol. 2. To rate these two albums, in my opinion, would be like putting a price on the Mona Lisa -- which, of course, is priceless.

And if I may add to my above quoted words, the 1959 stereo re-recording of Music of Christmas is indeed the Holy Grail of all Christmas albums.

I just can't say anymore than that.

And now, after years of perseverance, I have finally secured the re-release on CD -- with a PROPERdigital remastering -- of the #1 album in my all-time Top 500:

Percy Faith's 1959 stereo re-recording of Music Of Christmas.

For this release, I will personally write the CD liner notes myself. In addition, we will try to secure from Sony the following seven great bonus tracks that came from non-Christmas Percy Faith albums:

"Toyland" (from The Columbia Album of Victor Herbert LP, 1958)

"March of the Toys" (from The Columbia Album of Victor Herbert LP, 1958)

"My Favorite Things" (from The Sound of Music LP, 1960)"Be a Santa" (from Subways Are for Sleeping LP, 1961)"Brazilian Sleigh Bells" (stereo version from Carefree LP, 1961)"Judy (aka Christmas Is)" (instrumental version from More Themes for Young Lovers, 1964)"Soleado (aka When a Child Is Born)" (from Summer Place '76, 1976)

One of the many things that made Percy Faith so legendary as a Christmas music artist is that his Christmas music had an ethereal, celestial and angelic quality to it. In fact, so much so, that it sounds like it was literally piped down from heaven, as there was an otherworldly quality to it that no other artist has ever come close to in duplicating -- and I can categorically guarantee you that no one ever will. To be able to evoke such emotion to this degree with his music is what sets Percy Faith apart from anybody else and puts him in a class all by himself.

Another
one
of the many aspects of Mr. Faith's immense and incredible talent were
his brilliant arrangements. In particular, his gift for being so
deftly able to create beautiful counter-melodies that would
complement the original melody of a song. This
is exactly why when it comes to Christmas music he reigns supreme as the
undisputed King.

It is a terrible injustice that since its initial release on CD by Columbia Records in the early 1980s, this legendary album has tragicallynever had a proper digital remastering job. With this new 2017 release, that will now be corrected.

Posted below for your enjoyment are four magnificent selections from this classic and legendary album. Enjoy!

Oh my gosh, I cannot believe that you have finally managed through incredible obstacles and sheer perseverance to obtain the CD release and long over due remastering of the greatest Christmas album ever released, the majestic and unmatchable masterpiece by the one and only Percy Faith, Music OF Christmas, in all its original stereo glory.

I thought I was truly dreaming when I saw this headline of the 2017 release date in bold case blue spelling out to the Christmas world that you had won the long battle to secure the holy grail of all Christmas Instrumental albums with possible additional bonus cuts. I have too many questions to ask that are running through my mind, but let me start with this, thank you, thank you and thank you for never giving up on securing a proper release of this unmatched and sterling musical achievement that Mr. Percy Faith achieved when he made the ultimate stereo version of his grand opus, Music Of Christmas in 1959.

I assume this long awaited baby is a Real Gone Music release or is it a Sony Legacy project or both? Thank God you will be writing the liner notes as no one is more knowledgeable or deserving of being the caretaker of the Percy Faith legacy.

I am hoping the very talented Maria Triana of Battery Studios in New York will have a hand in the remastering of this gem as she did an incredible job on the Hallelujah twofer cd by Real Gone Music in 2014.

Lastly, I take it that we will not see this release until 2017, but might it come sooner than normal since there is such a pent up demand for the greatest Christmas album of all time to finally be remastered and released properly?

Wow, unbelievable. I long to be able to clearly hear the snare drums at the beginning of 'Good King Wenceslas' and the wide dynamic range of that song as well as the other wonderful arrangements of the master tape.

Thanks for continuing the efforts for Christmas Disc #1 of all time. Yes, we have to wait another year, but, good things come to those who wait.

WOW! I'm nearly speechless! Finally, we will get to hear "Music Of Christmas" as Columbia engineers and Percy Faith himself heard it when the 1954 masterpiece was re-recorded in the new medium of stereo in 1959. Whether or not you owned a copy of the album, "Music Of Christmas" was everywhere. Selections from the album were played on radio stations everywhere for decades, particularly WPAT-FM. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention The Yule Log. Those songs against the backdrop of that fireplace still give a feeling of Christmas that the passage of time cannot erase.

The bonus tracks look very good, too! I hope you are able to secure all of them! I hope we can all have this required Christmas CD in our homes by Thanksgiving 2017, so we can listen to it as we decorate our homes for Christmas.

The bonus tracks would be a welcome addition, as well (although a part of me can't help feeling they might be a better fit for a Christmas Is... reissue, being secular tunes rather than traditional religious carols).

Building on Motown Mike's comments, not to be a piggy when we're already going to get the top notch LP, but the 4 instrumental tracks from 'Christmas Is' are wonderful too- maybe that could be a second disk with the super extras listed?

Yes, this will be a Real Gone Music
release. And Maria Triana is definitely the one to be entrusted with the
remastering. I'd love to get it out sooner, but the street date for the release
will be fall of 2017. Glad to hear how much you're looking forward to the new
CD.

Bob:

I guess you didn't know, but I got
Hallelujah remastered and released on CD
in 2012. It was released as a 2-fer with the 1954 mono version of Music Of Christmas. Click here.

Frank:

Yes, it will definitely be out before
Thanksgiving 2017.

Rick:

A year goes by very fast; it'll be here before you know it.

Mike:

Glad you're looking forward to
the new CD.

As
for the bonus tracks, while secular, they are all instrumentals and therefore
belong on Music Christmas, as opposed to
Christmas Is which features mostly vocal
tracks.

Johnny:

I would like to release Christmas Is in its own right later on.

Darini:

I won't put any of these songs on the CD. The latter Percy song you mentioned wasn't even recorded for Columbia, but
rather years before for Decca/Vocalion. But even if it was, I wouldn't put it on
the CD. As for the Ray Conniff song that you mentioned in your duplicate post
(which I deleted from the thread), that doesn't belong on the Conniff collection
either.

I was just noticing the beauty of that Music Of Christmas Album Cover by Percy Faith that you posted when you made your grand announcement that this glorious album is to be remastered and released in all its digital glory in 2017.

Wow, when Columbia originally released that album on CD in the eighties for the first time they even managed to shrink that beautiful Poinsettia image and eliminate that iconic Columbia stereo image at the top with the arrows in green and black. I am not sure what Columbia called that label image, but I am guessing that you know.

I think I am going to enjoy the anticipation of waiting for this unmatched and glorious album for a year as we are blessed that you announced it so far ahead of time. Great things always come for those who wait and we have the thrill of Mantovani's Christmas Carols re-release as well as your other stellar albums from Real Gone such as the Jack Jones Christmas album to bask in this year.

Chip, thanks so much again for all you do for all of us Christmas Music Lovers.

That part of the album
cover artwork that you alluded to was the iconic Columbia Records
"Stereo Fidelity" Left and Right arrows. The word "Stereo" preceded the
Left arrow and the
word "Fidelity" followed the Right arrow. Also, on the far right of the top cover is the classic
"Columbia Eye" logo (sandwiched between the "Columbia" and "LP" designations).
And yes, sadly, these logos and designations were stripped from the cover
artwork when Columbia Records reissued the album on CD in the early
1980s.

Incidentally, another thing that Columbia sadly
deleted from the artwork was actually on the back cover. But this was
actually deleted 40 years ago beginning with the 1976 LP reissues of the album
(catalog #LE-10082). This thing that they eliminated was an important
blurb that was indicative to the greatness of this classic and
legendary album. It first appeared on the back cover of the 1959 LP pressings of
the newly recorded and released stereo version of the album.

To explain what it was,
I'll post below an excerpt from the liner notes that I have written for the new
2017 Real Gone Music CD release:

When
Columbia Records first released the newly re-recorded stereo version of Music
Of Christmas in 1959 with the updated "Poinsettia & Candle" cover
artwork (which is now legendary in its own right), they dedicated a little space
on the lower right-hand corner of the back cover to pay homage to the
original 1954 mono recording. In this spot, Columbia poignantly displayed a
little thumbnail picture of the original 1954 "Father playing Santa Claus" LP
cover and underneath the image they said the following:

"In its original edition with this well-known cover, this
collection sold over 250,000 copies."

Even
then, after only five years in print, this incredible Christmas album had
already achieved classic and legendary status. And beginning in 1959, with the
technologically superior stereophonic re-recording and Mr. Faith's
polished arrangements, the album has exponentially increased its status, stature
and legend as the great titan that it is in the realm of Christmas
music.

Posted below is a full picture of the original back cover that was
used from 1959-1975; in addition, I posted a close-up of that
lower right-hand corner tribute which paid homage to the original 1954 mono
recording.

Thanks so much for reminding me about the iconic "Columbia Eye" logo on the top cover of that Percy Faith masterpiece, Music Of Christmas and also for posting that early tease that you have written for the liner notes as well as the amazing history and back cover picture.

I am an absolute nut for getting these beautiful and iconic album covers back on the original releases as you and Gordon Anderson have managed to do for all the Real Gone Music releases on CD. I love the Columbia "Stereo Fidelity" logo artwork and the "Columbia Eye" logo so much that when I bought the Complete Johnny Mathis Christmas Recordings from Real Gone Music in 2015 with Mr. Mathis's autograph, I also bought the beautiful red vinyl release that featured his original Merry Christmas album cover with those iconic logos at the top and had them framed and matted together behind glass and it is one of my most treasured pieces of memorabilia I have hanging in my house.

I cannot wait to have a copy next year of the Music Of Christmas CD with that original artwork and beautiful new remastering to listen to in 2017!

I was very thrilled to see that Real Gone Music is wetting our appetite for the 2017 Music Of Christmas CD by Percy Faith by releasing in October of this year a two CD Definitive Hits collection with remastering by Maria Triana at Sony Battery in New York.

I have been dying to get a greatest hits compilation of Percy Faith and had been scanning Amazon for a few months, but noticed most of his catalogue was older and probably in need of some remastering.

Naturally I was thrilled that Real Gone Music came to the rescue for me with this gem to be released October 7th of this year. The only other Percy Faith CD's I had besides the Glorious Complete Music Of Christmas twofer by Real Gone Music and the inferior eighties copy of Music Of Christmas by Sony was a Instrumental Compilation of great 60's music that featured Percy's glorious Theme From A Summer Place and Paul Mauriat's magnificent Love is Blue which are my two favorite non Christmas instrumentals of all time.

Please tell Mr. Gordon Anderson to keep up the great work at Real Gone and I hope they are prepared for a lot of orders in 2017 for Music Of Christmas as I know that I personally will be ordering at least 5 copies, one for each of my daughters and two for myself. I'm not taking any chances not having a back-up for this masterpiece once it comes out in glorious remastered sound and original album artwork.

The new 2016 Percy Faith Definitive Collection 2-CD set was in the works long before I finally managed to secure the release for next year of Percy's 1959 stereo re-recording of Music Of Christmas, which only happened three weeks ago on August 6th.And we are in agreement on those two Percy and Paul instrumentals.

I own a six-eye Columbia stereo version of this classic album but the rear cover of my copy had replaced the tribute to the mono album with an ad for Columbia phonographs. The even later reissue as part of Columbia's Limited Edition series (on the chocolate brown label) just left that space blank! I'd never seen nor was even aware that the back cover of the original stereo had the mono tribute on it until a discussion on this forum when the double disc PF Christmas CD came out.

As an aside to the upcoming re-mastering in 2017 of "Music Of Christmas", most of us know that the original 1954 recording was released on both LP and 45 EP in three volumes. We had only one of those three 45 EPs in our home. I was wondering which volume we owned. My best memory of that 45 EP was that one of the sides (not sure if it was the A or B side) led off with "O Holy Night". Which volume was that?

The 45-rpm EP set of Percy Faith's 1954 mono recording of Music Of Christmas was catalog #B-453, and the three 45-rpm disc volumes contained within that set were catalog numbers B-1903, B-1904 and B-1905.

The 45-rpm disc that contained "O Holy Night" was the second disc, B-1904.

Side 1 of the B-1904 disc had "O Come All Ye Faithful" and "It Came Upon A Midnight Clear," and Side 2 of the disc had "O Holy Night" and "The First Noel."

What a great idea to combine Percy Faith's Music Of Christmas masterpiece with his really stellar Christmas Is album for a 2017 release. I do have a thought about twofers though in general and would like to know your thoughts on it as well with regard to the choice of album cover that Real Gone Music may use.

I recently bought Ferante & Teicher absolutely amazing cd from Friday Music, We Wish You A Merry Christmas, which combines their two outstanding holiday albums into one great package. I find it rare that any company comes close to matching Real Gone Music's unbeatable reputation for releasing legacy Christmas music from the past with such class with regard to both remastering as well as packaging and superb liner notes, but this was a rare exception to that rule, although the booklet could have included more pages.

What I did really appreciate about the Wish You A Merry Christmas package though was that instead of trying to put both those iconic album covers of We Wish You A Merry Christmas and Snowbound on the same front cover, they used the We Wish You A Merry Christmas on the front cover and put the Snowbound on the back of the booklet so you could reverse them if desired thus not reducing the beauty and size of their splendor.

I am hoping that Real Gone lets that beautiful poinsettia and candle cover of Music Of Christmas standout on the front of the package and make it reversible if possible with the Christmas Is cover on the back of the booklet if necessary.

I would love to know your thoughts since you and Gordon are the marketing masters and caretakers of these amazing Christmas legacy projects. I am excited beyond belief for the Music Of Christmas remaster and your anticipated awesome liner notes that will surely accompany this long overdue release.

I agree with you, Steven. However, for twofer releases, Gordon likes to show both original LP covers on the front of the CD artwork. So more than likely, it will be released in the same way as my previous Percy Faith release that I got out in 2012 (click here).

Well, it is going to be so great to have those two albums on one package to go along with that fantastic Complete Music Of Christmas package that you managed to get out in 2014. What a thrilling thing it will be to have the legendary Percy Faith's greatest whole Christmas catalogue remastered with new liner notes in two beautiful packages. We will be very fortunate if you get this combination done for Christmas 2017.

I do understand Gordon's marketing perspective that your trying to advertise to the public on the front cover that this package does contain two great albums and not just one. Its a bit of an enigma trying to balance the artistic versus marketing considerations and Gordon and Real Gone have done a masterful job with both and in large part I believe due to you guidance and consultation.

All of us who are devout lovers of these great and unmatched classics from the past are very fortunate to have you and Gordon in our corner securing that these albums get released on cd format so magnificently!

That more complicated jewel case will only be used if it's released as a double CD; however, more than likely it will be released as a single CD twofer, in which case the standard jewel case will be used.

I hope that they're digging thru the underground bunker full of Columbia master tapes and can locate all the original tracks for the Percy Faith LP on CD. Hope they are still in decent playable condition and that they can maintain the quiet passages - even at the expense of tape hiss - to allow the instruments to be heard that were masked by the horrible budget CD release.

I don't know if RCA recordings are in a different secure location, but that would be something if they also found the missing 4-track original recordings of the Perry Como Christmas Album from 1968 that Richard Carpenter referenced.

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone! Only 7 months until we get our Christmas wishes on CD!

Yes it is, Rick, but working to get these new releases out can be very trying -- not as much with Sony or WMG, but with UMG. The latest example is my proposed Fred Waring release. It is being held up, and possibly might not even happen, because UMG can't find Mr. Waring's contract. I thought I had seen everything with UMG, but this one really takes the cake. It is yet another example of why I have such a low opinion of them as a company. All I can say is that they better find the damn thing. I knew they were disorganized, but this is a new low.

I got word from Hollywood earlier today that my proposed Percy Faith release with all seven bonus tracks has finally been cleared and the project formally approved by SME (Sony Music Entertainment). We're on our way...

The street date for the new CD is not yet set as of the writing of this post; but as soon as it's available, I will post it on this thread. So stay tuned.

Oh my goodness, you got the final go ahead for Percy Faith's masterpiece Music Of Christmas with the eight additional tracks you had requested. All your board members have been waiting for this beauty to be remastered properly with your new liner notes and Real Gone Musics' tender loving care. If this remaster sounds anything close to the magnificent job Maria Triana did on Real Gone's Twofer that featured that glorious Hallelujah album, we Christmas music lovers are in for a real treat.

Congratulations, Chip, we all know on this board that this has been a long and hard fought battle by you and Real Gone to get this Jewel properly re-released in all its original glory. There is not a week that goes by that I do not think about the Music Of Christmas and Percy Faith's majestic arrangements being heard as it should be with a proper remaster!